I bought a video game at Best Buy a few weeks ago and something interesting happened on the walk back to my car that got me thinking about a type of gamer that will never go away: the fanboy.  We all know the term, some embrace it, some refute it, but there is no denying they are here to stay.  Let me tell you what happened.



Even though I am putting my best efforts into Dark Souls for an upcoming Spoilercast with the Duke and the Crab, a good friend of mine asked me if I would let him re-integrate me with Destiny. Here is a little sample of my time with Dark Souls so far:







Anyways, back to Destiny.

If you have listened to the Collectorcast, you know that I was very high on the Destiny pre-release, including the beta.  I purchased the standard version of the game digitally because I had a ton of MS credit.  Shortly after the game was released, I soured on it.  The story was incoherent, the enemies all seemed the same, the weapons all felt same-y, and many aspects of the interface were confusing.  It appears it wasn't just me, many reviewers felt the same way, Polygon famously gave the game a 6 out of 10. It wasn't long before I called it quits.  I couldn't even sell the game because I didn't have a physical copy.  Oh well, I moved on.  Years later, I have been told by many that the problems I had with the game have largely been solved and the game was finally the game that Bungie had promised.  I found a good deal on a physical copy of Destiny: The Taken King at Gamestop, and my plan was to have Best Buy price match because I don't like Gamestop.  Here we go, on my way to Best Buy to grab the Destiny I always wanted.


I was actually pretty excited.  Not only was I feeling pretty good about my re-introduction into a game that I had been looking forward to, but I had a good friend willing to play through it with me, show me the ropes, and make some of those tough missions not so tough.  A Wingman.  I was pumped.  I went to Best Buy, found the game, picked out what looked to be the best looking copy (or at least the best I could tell whilst it was locked in the security case) and went to the front register to check out.  A nice lady rang me out, matched Gamestop's price, and I was all set to go.  As I was walking back to my car...That's when it happened.  Suddenly and without warning.

As I approached my car, two young gentlemen parked next to me appeared ready to exit their vehicle.  Being the courteous young man that I am, I wanted for the driver to exit his vehicle before entering mine.  I heard one of them say something to the other and they both smiled.  I smiled too.  I didn't hear what they said, I was just smiling to be polite, kind of like a quick nod as you pass a stranger in the mall.  I turned to get into my car and I noticed that both of them are kind of looking towards me and smiling.  I think at this point, they could tell that  I didn't catch what they had said, so he repeated himself:

"You need to get yourself a PS4"

He said this because he saw the copy of Destiny I had just purchased for the Xbox One.  I wasn't expecting it and I could tell it was intended as a playful jab, so I just smiled and got into my car.  As I drove away, I started thinking of what I could have said back if I had either cared to make an argument or if i thought that the guy was being serious.

"Why do I need a PS4? All the games I want to play are on Xbox One" or maybe:

"Oh, is Crackdown 3 coming out for PS4?" If I wanted to be troll-y or playful:

"I thought about getting a PS4, but I wanted a system with a good controller"

but those things seemed like the things that a fanboy would say.  After a few minutes, I realized that this small and totally innocent comment had me slightly fuming under the surface.  Why would someone I don't even know feel the need to try to make me feel bad about the video game system that I have chosen to play?  I know that friends sometimes give each other little jabs that are all in good fun, but this was from a stranger.    Why are so many people so against the idea that someone could have a differing opinion regarding video game hardware? 

I like the Xbox One.  If you have a PS4, cool.  Have fun with it.  You like the Wii U? Awesome, hope you enjoy your Splatooning.  Prefer to stick with the PS3 or 360?  Fantastic, tons of great value there.  Maybe you only play the retro stuff.  Word, no end to the fun there.  See how that works?  Maybe just let people be cool with the stuff they like.  Have a suggestion for something you think is better?  Present your case with respect, don't let a playful Jab come across as a hurtful Fierce.

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